Taiwan donates US$100,000 to blizzard-hit Mongolia

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday announced a donation of US$100,000 to assist with disaster relief in blizzard-hit Mongolia.

In a news release, MOFA said that half of the pledged donation would be allocated to the Mongolian Red Cross Society, the largest humanitarian organization in Mongolia, and the half to Caritas Mongolia under the Holy See.

According to the ministry, Anthony Ho (賀忠義), head of MOFA's Department of West Asian and African Affairs, visited the Ulaanbaatar Trade and Economic Representative Office in Taipei earlier on Tuesday to meet with the Mongolian representative to Taiwan Gankhuyag Tumurbaatar.

Pledging the donation on behalf of Taipei, Ho said that Taiwan's government and people would like to extend a helping hand to Mongolia as the country deals with its most serious blizzards in decades.

It is hoped that the recovery and rebuilding work from the snowstorms, which have engulfed Mongolia since February, will proceed smoothly so that those affected can return to their normal lives as soon as possible, MOFA said.

Both Tumurbaatar and Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Rev. Monsignor Stefano Mazzotti of the Apostolic Nunciature in Taiwan thanked Taiwan and its people for the generosity, according to MOFA's release.